Homebuilders Pop After Housing Starts Jump

By Sam Mamudi

Construction on new U.S. homes in March hit the highest rate in almost five years, as starts for apartments jumped, according to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

The report pointed to an ongoing rebound in activity; starts in March were up 47% from the same period in the prior year, the largest year-over-year growth since 1992.

Housing starts rose 7% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.04 million, the highest rate since June 2008. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected construction starts in March to rise to a rate of 933,000 from an original February estimate of 917,000. The government on Tuesday also revised up February’s starts rate to 968,000.

At the latest, Lennar (LEN) is up 3.7%, while KB Home (KBH) is up 3%. PulteGroup (PHM) is up 2.4% and DR Horton is seeing a 2.5% rise. Shares of MDC Holdings (MDC) are up 2.7%. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) is up 1.7%.

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